Robotic control systems generally act in a programmed sequence of moves, either without input or in a simple input-triggers-response format. Robots do not, however, make their own plans. Therefore, there is a need for a robot to be able to act as a conversational, free-form, intelligent repository of knowledge and plans, able to accept general statements, questions, and instructions, and to respond in kind or in action, without regard to any sort of script or limitation on subject or complexity, alone or in consort with other robots.